Google Street View

For the past 7 months or so, I’ve been enjoying a gig that combines two of my favorite things: Photography and small businesses.

As a Google Trusted Photographer, I create really cool virtual tours for local businesses. Street View tours not only make a business look GREAT, they improve search results by adding a “See Inside” button, which also shows up on Google Maps and on their Google Places page. It’s easy to embed the tour on a website or share it on social media. Check it out, here’s the resurrected Pizza Man (the retractable roof on the second floor is a must see – just head for the stairs):

The process is simple: I come in with my camera on a tripod, set it up at various locations to create a logical walkthrough of the space, and shoot high resolution images at each location. After the shoot, I use software to stitch the images together into insanely high resolution “equirectangular” images and import them into Google’s proprietary software. There, the flat images are wrapped in 3D space into spherical images, and I then arrange them in the proper position and orientation over a satellite view of the business. Once completed and published, a business’ Street View tour is available online and hosted by Google for as long as they’re in business.

Street View has proven to be a great way for Rose’s Flower Shop in Wauwatosa to show off their beautiful gallery:

…and and a fun way for Door County visitors to recall their trip to Al Johnson’s – goats and all:

Know any business owners who might be interested in Street View? Please share! For more information and a quote, click here.